


Magician of Misfortune

by OminousPredictions



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Battle, Chloé Bourgeois Bashing, Chloé Bourgeois Causes an Akuma, Drama, Happy Ending, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:33:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23976790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OminousPredictions/pseuds/OminousPredictions
Summary: How did Jean Duparc end up being akumatised? Preparing his magic act to impress a boy he likes, Jean has his prospects seemingly ruined by one Chloe Bourgeois. Heartbroken and humiliated, Jean is akumatised into the menacing and malevolent Magician of Misfortune. Chloe says no one notices or is impressed by his magic? Let’s see them ignore him now when he makes the Eiffel Tower vanish in a puff of smoke!Just a little fic of how I imagined Jean Duparc got akumatised. Sort of sticks to canon, I guess.
Relationships: Jean Duparc/OMC
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter I

Jean was nervous. Normally he was quite a calm, focused and laid-back person, not prone to panicking even in the midst of an akuma attack. But right now, an akuma seemed an easier beast to wrangle than approaching Phillippe, who was talking and laughing with a couple of his friends. Phillippe was a tall boy with black hair, brown eyes and an easy smile. Jean had fancied him for a while now and been trying to pluck up the courage to speak to him, but never managed it. His friends Marc, Aurore and Mireille had advised him to be himself and show off his illusion tricks, which he was quite good at, and Phillipe was a nice guy. Even if he didn’t reciprocate Jean’s attraction, he wouldn’t be mean about it. So after a lot of internal agonising, Jean had decided to try it. He had his wand, his collapsible wizard’s hat, his deck of cards and his spellbook. On one card was written the words:

“Say the magic words: Will you go out with me?”

It was a bit cheesy, but it got the message across. Jean just needed to get Phillipe to read it. He took a deep breath and headed towards Phillippe and his friends. The tall boy’s head flew back as he laughed at something, causing the sun to catch in his hair in the most amazing way. Jean faltered slightly, but one of the girls talking to Phillippe spotted him and smiled.

“Hey, Jean!”, she said.

Jean wasn’t sure if he wanted to kiss her or kill her as Phillippe turned at her words, flashing that amazing smile of his. Jean swallowed as his throat became dry and he tried to return it. Stopping in front of the group, he managed to find his tongue.

“H-Hi, everyone.”, he said.

“Hey there. Jean Duparc, right?”, Phillippe asked, holding out his hand.

He knows my name! Jean tried not to let the excitement show on his face too much as he reached out tentatively and shook the offered hand. The skin felt so smooth and warm and sent tingles of electricity shooting up his arm from the point of contact. The same girl gave him a comforting smile.

“Jean does magic tricks. They’re really cool!”, she said.

Phillippe looked intrigued.

“Magic? For real?”, he asked.

“Yes. Well, not quite real. Illusions aren’t really real, but I can do them.”, Jean replied.

So much for being smooth and suave, but Phillippe’s laugh was genuine and friendly with no hint of mockery.

“Cool. What kind?”, he asked.

“It varies. I can do a bit of conjuration and vanishment, but my speciality is card tricks.”, Jean replied.

“Card tricks? Wait, you’re not gonna hypnotise me like that Simon Says akuma, are you?”, Phillippe asked.

Jean giggled nervously.

“No, no, nothing like that.”, he said.

He was happy to find the conversation was not as hard as he envisioned. His confidence bolstered, he reached for his pack of cards.

“Mostly it’s either misdirection or picking the right card. I can show you if you like.”, he said.

“Sure.”, Phillippe replied.

Jean slid the deck of cards out of the packet and shuffled them, selecting the special one, then sliding it into his sleeve. Next he took out his hat, unfurled it and put the deck of cards under it before taking out his wand.

“I shall now make these cards vanish and reappear in a different place.”, he said.

He tapped the hat thrice with his wand then pulled it away, revealing nothing either in his hand or inside the hat. Aurore came over, holding her parasol.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on?”, she asked.

“Jean’s doing magic.”, Phillippe replied.

“Ooh! He’s wonderful at that, you know!”, Aurore said.

“You really are a card, aren’t you, Aurore?”, Jean said.

Aurore’s parasol suddenly opened and playing cards cascaded out of it onto her head, making her shriek in surprise, but before they hit the ground Jean was scooping them all up. With a flick of the wrist they disappeared and he took a bow.

“I thank you.”, he said.

Phillippe and his friends clapped, as did a couple of students who’d gathered to watch. Aurore gave him a glare for his terrible pun.

“Although his jokes need some work.”, she said.

“You know I can easily sneak something other than cards into that parasol.”, Jean teased.

Phillippe was looking at him in an admiring way and Jean felt his courage increase. He slid the pack of cards out of his sleeve and unfurled them like a fan, which he used to fan himself before sliding them back together and placing one between his fingers. Another flick and two more appeared, then four, before flicking back into one.

“That’s amazing!”, said Phillippe.

Jean now began to enact the ending move, the precipice if you will. Sliding the cards back up his sleeve, he whirled his arms a little before flicking his wrist with his hand extended out towards Phillippe, a white envelope held between his index and middle fingers. Phillippe looked at it in confusion.

“But this isn’t a card.”, he said.

“No. It’s not.”, Jean replied.

He heard Aurore gasp as she understood, but did not tear his gaze away from Phillippe’s face. The tall boy took the envelope gently, turning it over in his hands before looking at Jean inquiringly. Jean nodded and Phillippe turned the envelope to slit it open, only to almost drop it as a high-pitched voice shattered the silence.

“Ooooooh, what’s going on here?! A gathering for something nice?”, it said.

Jean was painfully aware of the particularly loud groan of annoyance and disappointment from Aurore as the owner of the voice made herself known. Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the mayor and alpha bitch of the highest order, shouldered her way through the crowd to see what was going on, probably jealous of the attention that wasn’t coming her way than out of any genuine interest. Her face curled into a familiar sneer as she saw them.

“Oh, my mistake! I thought it was something interesting and important rather than the dweeb who does magic tricks!”, she said.

She laughed as though she had just come up with the greatest joke in the history of humour, but no one else laughed. Her eyes fell on the envelope in Phillippe’s hand and she snatched it.

“What’s this? A love letter of some kind?”, she remarked.

Jean’s eyes widened in horror and he made a grab for it, but Chloe pulled it out of reach as she slit open the envelope and took out the special card. She read what was on it and laughed.

“Oh, how sweet! Little Jean Dupont has a crush! I’ll admit you’ve got good taste, but not a lot of brains! Trust me, Phillippe, you could do much better.”, she said.

And tossing aside the card for a frantic Jean to catch, she stalked off. Jean picked up the card and looked up at Phillippe. The tall boy was looking thunderstruck and didn’t respond immediately, but Jean was suddenly aware of the looks and the whispers and the murmurs of the surrounding crowd and what he read as an accusing look in Phillippe’s eyes. Suddenly all of this came crashing down on him all at once and one thing remained in his mind; flee! Like a panicked deer Jean took to his heels and fled, ignoring the calls for him to stop and come back, only registering them as taunts and insults. He burst out of the school doors and fled away from the building, almost crashing into a person emerging from the bakery next door. Only when he entered the deserted park did he stop running. Leaning against a tree, Jean slid down it onto the ground, staring forlornly at the card in his hand. A drop of water fell on it and Jean looked up automatically to see if it was raining, but then he felt something run down his face and realised it was a tear. The sorrow and unfairness of the whole situation became too much and he hunched over, sobbing.

==================================================================

The window shade opened to allow light to stream into the dark room, illuminating a dark figure wearing dark clothes and thinking dark thoughts standing there. A swarm of white butterflies, their wings beautiful and delicate and shimmering in the light, took flight and fluttered around him. 

“Ah, another victim of Chloe Bourgeois’ cruel tongue! A broken heart over a failed crush! Such sweet flavours of distress for my akuma to taste!”, the figure proclaimed.

He held out his left hand to allow one of the butterflies to land on it, closing his right hand over it to infuse the little creature with energy. The now black-and-purple butterfly flew up and away towards the light, leaving it's creator behind.

“Go, my little akuma, and bring this young magician under our spell!”, he said, dramatically flourishing his cane.

The akuma found an opening in the window and flew out of it, into the Paris sky in search of it’s prey. Jean’s troubled soul was like a beacon on a moonless night for it and it found him in very short order. It fluttered over to him and landed on the card he was clutching in his hand, where it was absorbed into it. Jean’s head shot up as the skin around his eyes darkened and a glowing purple mask appeared in front of them.

“Magician of Misfortune, I am Hawk Moth. Your magic has been said to not be impressive enough. Well, now I’m giving you the power to ensure no one can ever say that again. In exchange for this gift, I only ask that you conjure up a pair of items for me; Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous. What say you?”, Hawk Moth purred.

“Let the show begin, Hawk Moth!”, Jean replied.

He stood up and clutched the card to his chest. Purple and black energy flowed out of it and over him, transforming the boy. When it dissipated, Jean was no more. His skin was chalk white with a black mask over his eyes and his hair was long and spiky. He wore a suit of black velvet with a white bowtie, white gloves and white shoes along with a black cape studded with white stars. The card had been transformed into a top hat, black with three white symbols of a crescent moon and two stars on it. He smiled and reached into it, pulling out a wand from within before placing the hat on his head. He turned his head to look at the school where he’d been humiliated.

“So my magic’s not impressive enough, is it? Let’s see them ignore me now!”, he said with a laugh.


	2. Chapter II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean's akumatised form, Magician of Misfortune, kidnaps his crush Phillippe and tries to make the Eiffel Tower vanish, seeking to establish himself as the greatest magician ever.

Aurore could not concentrate on her work at all. Normally this wasn’t a thing since she was pretty good with science and mathematics, she had to be if she wanted to remain a weather girl, but she kept glancing over at Jean’s empty seat. She was worried about him, very worried, and also angry at Chloe Bourgeois, very angry. Why did she always have to put people down all the time? And in such a cruel way? Jean had looked like a kicked puppy, which was just sad to watch. Ms. Mendeleiev had noted his absence, of course; nothing got past the acerbic physics teacher.

“Where is Mr. Duparc?”, she had asked.

Surprisingly it had been Phillippe who replied.

“He was a bit upset earlier. Chloe Bourgeois.”, he said simply.

Ms. Mendeleiev had rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath; she was the only staff member who was not afraid of Chloe’s wealth and status so the blonde brat knew not to push her luck with her. Aurore sat behind Phillippe so she was unable to see his face, but she was able to guess from his posture that he was thinking deeply. She had just resolved to go and talk to him once class was over when there was a sudden loud boom and an impact that shook the entire room, causing beakers and flasks to rattle on the desktops. A few people screamed and clutched each other.

“What was that?”, exclaimed Mireille.

After the whole Stormy Weather incident, Aurore and Mireille had made peace with each other and become friends, with Aurore even joining Mireille onscreen as her partner. Aurore flashed her a reassuring smile as they rushed out of the classroom to see what was going on. Students already in the courtyard were looking up in shock at something or someone standing on the roof, looking down on them. 

“Hello, hello, my friends! Welcome to my show!”, it said.

The voice was familiar, if horribly distorted, and Aurore was further shocked and horrified as she managed to get a closer look at the figure.

“Jean?”, she said in horror.

Phillippe, who was standing next to her, went pale as he heard her words. Jean, or the akuma that had once been Jean, laughed mirthlessly.

“Jean is no more! I am now the Magician of Misfortune!”, he replied.

His eyes alighted on Phillippe, causing them to narrow.

“So my magic isn’t impressive enough, is it? Well, let’s see you all laugh this off!”, he said.

He raised his wand up, red energy crackling on the end of it before shooting up into the sky. An explosion of light and sound and suddenly it was raining, thunder and lightning crashing overhead.

“Holy Miraculous, he changed the weather!”, exclaimed a boy.

“Big deal! Silly little Aurore could do that as well and there’s nothing special about her!”, Chloe said disdainfully.

Aurore glared at the bitchy blonde; aside from the slight against her own akumatised form, she was irritated that Chloe did not seem to realise what a bad idea it was to provoke akumas, particularly ones she’d caused herself. Sure enough, the Magician of Misfortune growled angrily and took off his hat, rummaging around inside it.

“So weather manipulation isn’t enough to ruffle your feathers, is it? Then try this!”, he said.

He took a long, white feather from within his hat and hurled it at Chloe. It struck her in an explosion of smaller feathers and when they cleared, her usually immaculate hairdo had been turned into a literal bird’s nest with feathers sticking out everywhere. She caught sight of her reflection in a mirror and screamed.

“My hair! Do you know how long it took to get it looking like this?!”, she screeched.

Magician of Misfortune laughed, but then Hawk Moth was talking in his ear again.

“Enough of this minor magic! In order to impress everyone and draw out Ladybug and Chat Noir, you must do something even more grand! Only then will you be the greatest magician of all time!”, he said.

“Yes, Hawk Moth!”, Magician of Misfortune replied.

He looked around for inspiration and his eyes alighted upon the Eiffel Tower. What better way to get people to notice his magic than by vanishing one of the most famous monuments in the world? He grinned and prepared to take off towards it, but a shout from below attracted his attention.

“Jean! Wait! Please stop this!”

Phillippe had broken cover to run out into the open, heedless of the rain. He was looking up at the akuma with a devastated expression. Magician of Misfortune jumped down from the roof, leaving a crater in the concrete where he impacted, and advanced on the tall boy.

“I’m not Jean anymore! You were not impressed with my magic acts! I need to do it better, bigger, so you will be impressed!”, the akuma said.

Phillippe looked very guilty.

“No! No, you don’t need to do that! I was impressed, really impressed, but what was written on that card Chloe read out…..”, he began.

“None of that matters! You wouldn’t have reciprocated anyway!”, Magician of Misfortune replied.

“I was shocked, that’s all! I didn’t know what to think in that moment! I wasn’t angry or disgusted, just surprised!”, Phillippe replied.

The akuma froze.

“Wait…… so you might have………?”, he asked uncertainly.

Phillippe half-opened his mouth………….. and was suddenly interrupted by a red and black-spotted yo-yo shooting out of nowhere to strike Magician of Misfortune in the chest, knocking him backwards. Phillippe whipped round to find himself facing Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“The weather called for sunny spells, not rainy ones.”, Chat Noir punned by way of a greeting.

“Get yourself to safety, citizen.”, Ladybug said to Phillippe, readying her yo-yo for battle.

But the Magician of Misfortune had sprung back to his feet, enraged. Taking off his hat, he reached into it and produced a pack of playing cards. 

“Is this gonna be a repeat of Simon Says?”, Chat Noir asked, still not taking the akuma seriously.

“Not quite, kitty.”, Magician of Misfortune replied with a grin.

He unfurled the deck and threw the cards at them. As the cards touched the ground, there was a flash of light and knights in armour flashed into existence. On each knight was a symbol in the shape of a heart, club, spade or diamond and the heads of their spears, pikes and axes matched them. The heroes blanched and took a step backwards.

“Uh-oh.”, Chat Noir said.

“You and your big mouth, kitty.”, Ladybug remarked.

Magician of Misfortune laughed and raised an arm.

“Knights! Seize them and bring me their Miraculous!”, he demanded.

The knights let out echoing battle cries and charged the heroes. Phillippe, who had ducked out of the way, felt a hand close around his wrist with a grip of iron.

“You’re coming with me! I have more magic to show you.”, Magician of Misfortune said.  
Phillippe had no choice but to allow himself to be spirited away by the akuma. Chat Noir noticed this.

“Milady, he’s getting away! And he took a hostage!”, he said.

“Understood! Let’s deal with these guys before we go after him!”, Ladybug replied.

The knights were formidable fighters, but weren’t that strong since they had been conjured from cards and the heated but short battle ended with all of them insensate on the floor.

“These guys weren’t much of a nightmare to face.”, Chat Noir remarked.

Ladybug rolled her eyes at the pun.

“True, but now we have to figure out where the akuma went! And who it is!”, she said.

“I know who it is!”, cried a voice.

Both heroes turned to see Aurore walking towards them, her parasol open to protect her from the rain.

“Who is it?”, Ladybug asked.

“Jean Duparc, my classmate. He was trying to impress that boy he took, Phillippe, with his magic tricks but Chloe Bourgeois ruined his performance.”, Aurore replied.

Ladybug groaned.

“Of course it would be another Chloe Bourgeois akuma! What is this one, the sixth? The seventh?”, she remarked.

“We really need to have a word with her in that regard.”, Chat Noir said.

“We will. But did you see where he went?”, Ladybug asked Aurore.

“He was heading towards the Eiffel Tower.”, Aurore replied.

“Thank you. Let’s go, Chat Noir!”, Ladybug said.

It wasn’t that hard to find the akuma after that. The crowd of screaming people fleeing from the direction of the Trocadero was a good hint and sure enough, there he was floating on what looked like a magic carpet, waving his wand and preparing to make the Eiffel Tower vanish. Both heroes looked around and spotted Phillippe, restrained in a comfy armchair with an umbrella over it, swooping down to him.

“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”, Ladybug asked.

“No, I’m fine. Please, you have to stop him! I hate seeing him like this!”, the boy replied.

“We will. And don’t blame yourself for this! We know Chloe upset him.”, Ladybug told him.

“Thank you, Ladybug.”, Phillippe replied.

The akuma hadn’t noticed them yet, preparing to vanish the Eiffel Tower. 

“All his items seem to come from his hat. I bet that’s where his akuma is hiding!”, Ladybug said.

“I’ll get it then, milady! Hats off to you!”, Chat Noir replied.

He jumped high at the akuma, staff poised to strike him, but the Magician of Misfortune spotted him.

“You again!”, he said in rage.

He drew a bat from within his hat and whalloped Chat Noir back to the ground. The hero, winded but otherwise fine, pulled himself back to his feet as the akuma hovered over them.

“I see my knights weren’t enough! I’ll have to try something else!”, he growled.

“Oh yeah? Like what? Are you gonna pull a rabbit out of your hat next?”, Chat Noir said sarcastically.

The akuma smirked.

“Not just any rabbit. A were-rabbit!”, he replied.

He took out a small rabbit and threw it at them. In mid-air, it transformed into an enormous ten foot muscular giant of a rabbit, which dented the concrete beneath it's feet as it landed. It pounded it's chest and roared, showing buck teeth the size of axe blades. Chat Noir looked sheepishly at Ladybug.

“Oops?”, he said.

“Remind me to slap you next time you’re about to say something you’ll regret.”, she said.

“Unfortunately for you both, there won’t be a next time! Rabbit, destroy them and seize their Miraculous!”, Magician of Misfortune ordered.

The giant rabbit bellowed and swung at them, missing by inches. It’s enormous feet cracked the ground as it stamped them, trying to grab the nimble heroes. Ladybug flew back and wrapped her yo-yo around it, trapping it.

“Gotcha!”, she said.

“Have you, Ladybug? Clearly you don’t know what one rabbit is capable of doing!”, remarked the akuma.

He snapped his white-gloved fingers and the giant rabbit suddenly became dozens of smaller ones. Ladybug stumbled as she lost her hold on them and Chat Noir shrieked as he was bombarded by small but strong rabbit feet and punches.

“That should fix you! Now, back to the show!”, Magician of Misfortune said.

“Milady, I don’t mean to rush you but these guys are really getting a kick out of this! Oof!”, Chat Noir said as one got him in the stomach.

“Got it! Lucky Charm!”, Ladybug cried.

The invocation of her special superpower granted her a seemingly useless item that she then put to use creatively or in a ridiculously convoluted way to resolve the situation. This one was a little more straightforward.

“A bag of rabbit food?”, she remarked.

She looked around for a way to use it and quickly found one.

“Chat Noir, keep them busy!”, she ordered.

“No- oof! - problem, milady!”, Chat Noir replied, still getting beaten up.

Ladybug swung up to Magician of Misfortune’s carpet.

“Hey! Catch this!”, she shouted.

And she threw the bag at him. He caught it.

“You think you can defeat me with this? Ha!”, he laughed.

Then the bag burst, spilling rabbit food all over him. The flying carpet swayed as his concentration was broken. As he managed to regain control, one of the rabbits suddenly jumped up onto the carpet and flung itself on him.

“What the-?!”, the akuma exclaimed.

More of them piled on, too much for the carpet to remain airborne and it crashed to the ground. Magician of Misfortune was now the one being pummeled and buffeted by rabbits as they fought to get at the food and he could not remain still enough to vanish them.

“Stop it- oof! - you blasted things! I’m your- blagh! - master!”, he said.

But they weren’t listening. One hopped up high and struck him in the chin, causing his head to snap back and sending his hat flying off.

“Now, Chat Noir! Get his hat!”, Ladybug commanded.

“On it! Cataclysm!”, Chat Noir cried.

His right hand became infused with bubbling black destructive energy as he closed it around the hat, turning it to ash. From the remnants of the hat fluttered the akuma, leaving it up to Ladybug.

“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilise!”, she cried.

Catching it in her yo-yo, she released the now purified butterfly and it flew off.

“Bye-bye, little butterfly.”, she said.

Magician of Misfortune fell to the floor and energy washed over him, leaving Jean in his place. Arriving police forces quickly converged on the scene, picking him up and putting a blanket round his shoulders whilst another one pressed a hot drink into his hands. The boy looked immensely confused; akuma victims rarely remembered what they had done. Ladybug picked up the burst bag and threw it into the air.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”, she cried.

The bag transformed into a swarm of magical ladybugs that sought out the damage caused by the akuma and restored it to normal. Phillippe’s bonds vanished, as did the rabbits, but the rain remained; an actual small rainstorm had moved in whilst the akuma one was in place. Typical.

“Another job well done, milady.”, Chat Noir remarked.

“Maybe not quite done yet.”, Ladybug replied.

She walked up to Phillippe, who was hanging back from going over to Jean even though he clearly wanted to.

“I heard he has a crush on you. Do you like him back?”, she asked.

Phillippe looked uncertain.

“Well………….. I would like to get to know him better.”, he admitted.

“Then go and talk to him.”, Ladybug said.

“What? Now? But he’s just been akumatised.”, Phillippe protested.

“So what better time to tell him? Believe me, positive thoughts after being akumatised can do wonders for people.”, Ladybug told him.

Phillippe looked thoughtful, then nodded. He followed behind her as she walked up to Jean, who was nursing his drink thoughtfully.

“Hey there. Jean Duparc, right?”, she asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry for getting akumatised, Ladybug.”, he replied.

“Don’t blame yourself, Jean. Hawk Moth is the one to blame, preying on people’s bad feelings. Plus, I know how irritating Chloe Bourgeois can be.”, Ladybug told him.

“She just…….. ruined everything. I was going to tell this boy I liked how I felt about him, and she goes and reads my confession out loud just like that. Are no one’s feelings sacred to her?”, Jean remarked.

“I’m not really sure. But maybe not all is lost with this boy?”, Ladybug suggested.

“Are you kidding? He’s probably not even gay, and even if he is I just kidnapped him as an akuma. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted to run a mile from me.”, Jean replied.

Ladybug smiled and stood aside, revealing Phillippe, as her earrings began beeping and flashing warningly.

“Why don’t you let him say so himself? Good luck to you both, I’ve gotta bug out!”, she said.

And she was off, leaving a bit of an awkward atmosphere between the two boys. Finally, Phillippe spoke.

“Can I sit?”, he asked.

Jean nodded shyly and Phillippe sat down next to him. Neither made any sound for a moment, then Jean broke the silence.

“So, you heard right. I have a crush on you. Had one for a while. I’d been wanting to tell you for so long but I could never seem to find the right words or the right time until today. And then…….”, he trailed off.

“Sorry. Didn’t realise I was that intimidating.”, Phillippe remarked.

“It’s all right. Was more me being a coward.”, Jean replied.

More silence.

“You know, you were right. I’m not gay.”, Phillippe said.

Jean bowed his head and felt tears begin to form, but then he felt a warm hand on his own.

“But I am curious. And I would like to get to know you better.”, Phillippe remarked.

Jean looked at him and saw the older boy looking at him with a tender smile, comforting and warm and with hopeful promises of the future. He found himself smiling back, the tears going away. The two boys held the gaze for a little while, neither wanting to spoil the moment.

“You know, you never did show me some of your other tricks. I’d like to see them, if it’s all right with you.”, Phillippe said after a while.

Jean smiled.

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”, he replied.

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short and sweet fic of my own imagining of how the off-screen Magician of Misfortune akuma came to be. All of Jean's powers were inspired by typical magic tricks like cards and the rabbit out of the hat. 
> 
> May the Fourth be with you all.

**Author's Note:**

> For those who are curious, Jean's crush Phillippe is another background character from Ms. Mendeleiev's class, the boy in the white shirt in this photo. 
> 
>   
> https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/lady-bug/images/f/f9/Reflekta_004.png/revision/latest?cb=20200405213957


End file.
